The car was booked into Sims Toyota of Northampton, who called a week before the service date to confirm the cost. The IS was then picked up and delivered back to the office the same day, thoroughly cleaned inside and out. Seems so simple, doesn't it...

The first 10,000 miles have produced just a couple of niggles. The rear luggage cover has a mini parcel shelf designed to cover a gap between cover and boot hatch. It's way too delicate when you throw two children into the day-to-day mix, and needs replacing. The other is a noise which sounds like a worn wheel bearing, especially under braking. Sims could find nothing wrong and have asked me to monitor it.

With licence preservation in mind, I've had the Lexus fitted with a GPS-based micro RoadPilot system that alerts you to fixed Gatso and other speed detection sites. It's a neat installation; the removable LCD display unit is about the size of a matchbox and is mounted to the right of the instrument binnacle. It's also supplied with a laser detector that's chipolata-sized and sited up by the rear-view mirror - it doesn't give you much warning, but it might just be enough.
As you approach a Gatso the display shows what the speed limit is, with your actual speed alongside. If you're ahead of the limit there's a little warning bleep - forget to ease off the gas as you get closer to the camera and the bleep turns into the screech of a thousand angry grasshoppers. Ignore that racket and you deserve to get busted.

It also seems to cover the temporary fixed Gatsos that you find in roadworks, which is a real bonus, given how much revenue these things generate.
The RoadPilot with laser detector costs ΂£399.95 and after a free six months' subscription it's 50 quid a year to keep downloading updated information from the internet. If you fancy one, call the RoadPilot boys on 0870 240 1701.